Robert Archer Collection

Railroad Pictures

Last Updated on :
You may download any image for personal** or non-commercial use only.**Personal does NOT mean you can post them online in any form, on your own YouTube or FaceBook pages.

Click on the picture to bring up a larger image.

Canadian National Railway

GP9's are found across CN's system. Here is GP9RM 7082 working in Oakville Ontario in January 2000

CN8020, a SD70M, passes the new signal bridge at station point SNAKE near Burlington ON - January 2008

BRAMPTON INTERMODAL TERMINAL

CN's Brampton Intermodal Terminal is a key yard on the rail lines that connect Halifax with Chicago and Winnipeg with Montreal. It serves customers in Toronto and southern Ontario. Hundreds of containers move through here daily by train and truck.

CN 2245, the leader on Train 148 the daily hot intermodal train from Chicago, was being cut off from it's train of containers so the yard engines could work the train removing the Toronto destined container cars and adding cars for Montreal and Halifax. Train 148 would roll again in a few hours to Montreal and then arriving in Halifax on the second morning from Brampton.

CN 5706 was the second locomotive in Train 148 power lashup.

N 2690 was the third locomotive in the power lashup that brought Train 148.

After the Road Power was moved away a set of Yard Switchers moved into place, coupled on the container train and shoved it deep into the B.I.T. yard for work.

Another day, the Mechanical Crew had the front end of locomotive 8951 jacked up while they were doing some work. This seemed to cause a back-up with trains of containers all the way back to the main line.

Canadian Pacific Railway

Here is GP40 4656 leading the daily "Frame Train" through Mississauga. This is a unit train of truck frames from Magna Industries St.Thomas Ontario to the General Motors assembly plant in Oshawa Ontario. Robert Archer Collection.

SD40-2 5825 is leading a Detroit bound intermodal train on a May 2002 evening. This locomotive is wearing the "Dual Flag CP Rail System" paint job. Robert Archer Collection.

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY's busy Montreal- Toronto- Detroit corridor is still served by CP's large fleet of GM Diesel's SD40 model. All current paint schemes can be seen. SD40-2 5906 is leading a west (Detroit) bound manifest train past Dixie Ont. in June 2001. It is wearing the plain CP Rail paint job. Robert Archer Collection.

The CPR corporate excursion engine 2816 toured Southern Ontario in June 2003. On June 14, in conjunction with GO Transit, it pulled a passenger train from Toronto to Milton Ontario. Here are some views of 2816 on the return trip.

Here is 2816 about arriving in Streetsville Ontario.

After some passengers got off the train, it continued east to Toronto. Here it is crossing Queen Street in Streetsville.

Under a small whiff of smoke 2816 rounds the corner and continues on to Toronto Union Station, 20 miles away.

100 years oldCanadian Pacific Railway snow plough 401005 sits at Guelph Jct (Ontario) on Rememberance Day 2007. This plough was originally built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1927 by the CPR at their shops in Montreal.

CP RAIL SD40-2 5911 is in the lash up of a train from Buffalo NY to Toronto on 11-11-07. It still wears it's original large MultiMark logo.

The "London Pickup", a local train based in London Ont that serves the Galt Sub, has just picked up some carloads of scrap metal at Guelph Jct. It has started the return trip west. - October 2014.

A local train based in Toronto that serves customers as far as Milton is setting out grain cars at the Mondelez grain mill in Streetsviile (Mississauga) - October 2013.

These three locomotives are model GP20C-ECO. They are moving a large train of empty autoracks from CP's Cambridge Yard to Hagy Yard, a small yard near Toyota's Cambridge Assembly Pant. -July 2014

Via Rail

Carrier: VIA Rail
Here are two of VIA's newest locomotives: They were on a special train to Stratford ON ; May 25,2002. Robert Archer Collection.

The 6400 series F40PH-2 locomotives are the back bone of VIA's fleet. 6429, seen leading Toronto - Windsor Train 73 in July 2000, had the colours and logo of Home Hardware shrink-wrapped on it.

Via Rail train I took this morning showing the fog on October 6, 2005

Budwieser had this wrap on a VIA locomotive for the Super Bowl. They ran a special train from Toronto to Windsor on Super Bowl Sunday. I flubbed that shot so when I saw it was on VIA train 70, I went over to the station to get it.

The Quarry
Here is VIA 6403 in the CBC 50th Anniversary wrap in an unimpeded view April 4, 2006

Already over half an hour late, not quite 13 miles out of Toronto VIA P42 914 is accelerating west on it's journey to Windsor. It has been delayed by other trains, plugged and frozen switches due to a heavy snow storm. February 7 2008

This picture was taken in the summer of 1992 when I was just developing an interest in train photography. VIA 6400 was damaged in a derailment in February and so heavily damaged it is being scrapped.

This is the DUNDAS HILL, the Niagara Escarpment where the CN line from Toronto climbs on it's way to Brantford, London and Sarnia.
This is your "Fall Colour Shots" from Ontario for 2009.

AMTRAK 705 powers the Toronto-New York City "Maple Leaf". It is sitting at the station in Niagara Falls Ont about to go across the Lower Arch Bridge into the United States. December 3 2005

GO/Metrolinx

GO Transit is the local commuter agency that handles trips from the outer suburbs into Toronto by train and bus. GO operates their trains on both CN and CP.

The main GO line runs from Toronto west to Oakville and from Toronto east to Pickering.

They run rush hour trains over another half dozen lines but the Oakville - Toronto - Pickering service runs from about 0530 till 0030 7 days a week. VIA rail is Canada's Amtrak. Their trains run mostly over CN lines between Quebec City in the east and Windsor Ontario in the west. VIA locomotive 6403; that I was trying to shoot this morning has been wrapped with the logo of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) since 2002. I was trying to get a shot of it this morning on it's way into Toronto from London Ontario.

GO Trains are GP59PH locomotives with bi-level commuter cars. LIke some Chicago commuter trains they are set up to Push - Pull. They push west and pull going east. The GO train that came in front of my camera this morning was going west. That is the cab control car on the west end of the train.

Here are some pictures to illustrate.

GO 558 is the actual locomotive of the same train; it is pushing the train. Note the red taillights; this signifies the end of the train.

In the picture GO TRAIN MEET; an express GO train is passing non- stop through the Port Credit station while the other train (which left Toronto at 17h13) discharges passengers. Both trains are going west. It shows a good look at the control cab.

Since I was successful in catching "VIA BUD" on Tuesday I thought I'd try and get VIA 6403 -the CBC wrapped unit from 2002. I had information that it was on the Train 82 -83-82 TMC - 68 cycle.
Train 83 is the evening train to London; with Train 82 the morning train back to Toronto.
The weather is somewhat inclimate wet snow before dawn and freezing rain at 08h00.
This was putting some minor delays on some GO trains.
There is a westbound empty GO train a few minutes before Train 82 passes eastbound.
Not this morning though..........it was a MEET AT STAVEBANK ROAD.......

GO Transit runs commuter rail service in the Toronto Ontario region. They run an all GMD F59PH fleet of locomtives to pull their bi-level passenger cars. GO 558, seen here arriving at Port Credit, is an example.

Control Cab 215 is a picture of a westbound train just about to go across Stavebank Road. The engineer is in the cab running the train from there.

I am attaching the first decent picture I have taken of GO Transit's newest locomotives. GO602 was on the point of the 14:43 Toronto bound train from Port Credit. The picture still isn't the best as it was taken into a strong sun. Location Mile 12.95 CN Oakville Sub.

Regionals and Shortlines

The ONTARIO NORTHLAND RAILWAY will soon be a "fallen flag". It's owner, the Government of Ontario, is selling the railway to CNR. Here is GP38-2 1801 in the O.N. Rail paint scheme, at Cochrane, Ont. in June 2001. Alan Sutherland Photo.

Cando Contracting, based in Brandon MB, runs several shortlines in Canada. One, the remnants of the CPR line to Owen Sound, is the OBRY- The Orangeville Brampton Railway. Here is CCGX 1000 the PRIDE OF ORANGEVILLE at the connection with CPR at Streetsville where it will pickup a cut of cars to haul to Orangeville.

The ST.Thomas & Eastern Railway serves customers on the former CN Cayuga Sub in south western Ontario. Locomotive 3582 sits at the engine house in Tillsonburg Ont. on Saturday April 16 2005. It was built by Bombardier, model HR412(W), in 1981 for CN (unit2582). It wears the livery of a former user, TIMBER TRAIN, an excursion company in Central Quebec.

The Orangeville - Brampton ran a special over their line. My friend and I chased it. The crew recognised us by the second or third photo stop. The train runs through the Niagara Escarpmrnt area; which is a UN recognised "biosphere".

South Simcoe Rwy taken in Tottenham Ont. in August 1993.

I guess that Ontario Northland doesn't have a huge car fleet. I saw ONT 7815 on May 1 2005 in Oakville Ontario on CN; it was completely covered in graffitti. I saw it again today; in an eastbound train passing through Brampton Ont on CN. It is still completely covered; it's not been repainted.

The ONTARIO SOUTHLAND RAILWAY is a shortline that operates CP's former St. Thomas Subdivision. On November 11 2011, a lashup of RS23 503 (ex CP8029) and RS-18u 182 (ex CP 1801, ex CP 8764) wait for the arrival of the CP train from London that has some cars for them to pick up.

Norfolk Southern Rail Photos

Norfolk Southern Railroad ran trains 327 & 328 between Buffalo New York and St.Thomas Ont to service the Ford Motor Company factory. On December 3 2005 Train 328 to Buffalo had a lashup of Union Pacific power, with SD70M 5144 leading, at Niagara Falls Ont. Those trains ran until December 31, 2006 when CN took over servicing the Talbotville Assembly Plant. The plant was closed in 2011.

NS still operates a transfer run across the border from Buffalo to Fort Erie. On April 23 2015 a short train entered Canada with NS 3395 on the point.

The "International Bridge" carries all freight traffic across the Niagara River. It is used by CN, CP and NS. The "Lower Arches/ Whirlpool" Bridge at Niagara Falls only sees AMTRAK passenger traffic.

Miscellaneous Rail Related Photos

This was taken by a Reading Railroad company photographer and saved from being tossed in the trash. It shows the trucks that Reading was using to serve smaller communities on it's routes. The Reading - Central truck was a combined service with the Central of New Jersey Railroad. Pottsville PA in 1939.
Robert Wanner Collection. Additional details from Vern Tyler.